“Stability, community, identity”: this is the motto of
Brave New World. The inhabitants of this world are divided into different
cases: the Epsilons, who are little ugly workers. They can’t read or write
because of lack of oxygen in their brains. They are the “slave” of Brave New
World because only Epsilons do unpleasant, silly hard work; then there are the
Deltas, who have slightly better positions in the system. Their function is
similar to the Epsilons, but it’s not a hard and dirty work. The lower classes
are mostly clones, everybody looks completely identical. The next caste is the
Beta-caste. These people live in better circumstances: they are intellectuals,
they have free access to the drug “soma” and they are the second best class in
the system. The Alphas are the best, the most beautiful, most intelligent of
the population of Brave New World. They are also the rulers: politiocians,
scientists, (re)searchers, world controllers. Sometimes they are
extraordinarily clever and in that case, they’re called “Alpha +”.
People are no longer born in this world, genetic
engineering is the way for producting babies. In special factories men and
women are bred in tubes, they are brainwashed while sleeping. That’s why nobody
is unhappy there. You are like the others, everybody knows where they belong
to. There aren’t any conflicts between the castes because of these brainwashing
lessons, which everybody listens to in the factories. An Alpha guy is as
handsome and clever as any other Alpha guy. And Epsilons don’t’ become green
with envy when they see a Beta. This world works perfectly because of
conditioning and manipulation.
Of course, when there aren’t any mothers and fathers,
people don’t live in families. There are no real relationships. Everybody has
got their own apartment and it’s strange and uncommon to live with an other
person. Sure, people have freidns, but these relations are very superficial.
The men and women are like robots who try to avoid any kind of deep feelings
like love, hate, sympathy, jealousy, etc. Developing true and real emotions is
really uncommon and irritating. The most important things are fun and
scientific progress. And since people aren’t confronted with literature,
history and religion, they don’t question the authority, the system. There is a
kind of God called “Ford”, to whom everybody frequently “prays”. And this kind
of life is of course very convenient: there are no violence, no real problems
and difficulties. Everybody is happy and never depressed because theres is
soma, the drug without any side effects. Everybody takes it and enjoys a
soma-holiday.
You live your life as a Brave New Worldia and one day
it’s time to “die”. At the age of 65 years everybody goes to a special clinic
and there one is gently killed by listening to one’s favourite music, having
nice time. A lethal injection and you’re gone. No pain suffering or fear. No
illnesses, unhappiness or depressions. The negative aspects of life are taken
away. You have sex, got to work, listen to music, take soma and enjoy the
“feelies”(cinemas). Such an unproblematic way of life is just beautiful.
Wouldn’t everybody just dream about it? About stability, community and
identity.